What exactly is a "empty moon"?

Created: 03/01/2022, 10:40 am

By: Janine Napirca

Do you know what the empty moon is?

© Eibner-Pressefoto/EXPA/Groder/Imago

Have you ever heard of the term "empty moon"?

You can read here which phase of the moon is meant by this.

Throughout the year, the moon goes through different phases, which differ from each other by

.

Depending on the angle at which the sun, the moon and the earth are in relation to each other, the perspective from the earth also changes.

A basic distinction is made between the

.* When the moon lights up particularly brightly and large in the sky, this is known as the so-called

moon .

But then what exactly is a

?

Also Read

What do you mean by empty moon?

Leermond is the name of the

in

.

Empty moon, or new moon, is the name given to the illumination phase of the moon, in which the moon is exactly between the earth and the sun.

The sun's rays only illuminate the side of the moon that faces away from the earth.

Because of this, the Empty Moon is either not visible at all or only very poorly from Earth.

Also interesting

When is the next new moon?

The next new moon is

expected

At this time you can only see the night side of the moon.

Only after about 35 hours is the extreme right edge – in the southern hemisphere the extreme left edge – visibly illuminated by the sun.

This phase of the moon, which follows the empty moon, is also known as the

, whereas the last visible phase before the new moon is called the

.

The second empty moon of a month and the third new moon of a season with a total of four new moons is called the

.

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Why can't you see the empty moon or new moon?

Although the side of the moon that faces Earth always gets some reflected sunlight, also called earthshine, the new moon, or empty moon, cannot be seen with the naked eye.

This is because

.

In general, the empty moon cannot be seen in the night sky because

.